Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) Shares Gap Down on Insider Selling

Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Monday following insider selling activity. The stock had previously closed at $45.31, but opened at $42.96. Devon Energy shares last traded at $44.12, with a volume of 4,473,786 shares changing hands.

Specifically, SVP Andrea Alexander sold 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.74, for a total value of $841,320.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 138,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,474,845.46. This represents a 11.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on DVN. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Devon Energy from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore raised shares of Devon Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $54.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Devon Energy from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Devon Energy from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Capital One Financial decreased their target price on shares of Devon Energy from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.44.

Devon Energy Trading Down 2.0%

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $47.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.14. The company has a market cap of $27.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.39 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The energy company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.02). Devon Energy had a return on equity of 15.22% and a net margin of 13.71%.The business had revenue of $3.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.82 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Devon Energy Corporation will post 4.73 EPS for the current year.

Devon Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a positive change from Devon Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Devon Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.74%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DVN. Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in Devon Energy by 98.8% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 115,780 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $4,330,000 after buying an additional 57,555 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Devon Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $403,000. Jump Financial LLC lifted its position in Devon Energy by 58.8% during the 2nd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 28,251 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $899,000 after acquiring an additional 10,464 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in Devon Energy by 17.8% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 148,882 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $4,736,000 after acquiring an additional 22,482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Devon Energy by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 144,174 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $4,586,000 after acquiring an additional 8,127 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.72% of the company’s stock.

About Devon Energy

Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE: DVN) is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The company focuses on the exploration, development, production and marketing of hydrocarbons, including crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs) and natural gas. Devon operates as an upstream energy company that acquires, evaluates and develops onshore resource plays using a combination of drilling, completion and production optimization techniques.

Core business activities include identifying and developing energy reserves, operating well programs and managing reservoir performance to generate production and cash flow.